Coyotes preview — Phoenix is 3-2 under new coach Dave Tippett, who was formerly in Dallas. Proving that the record is no fluke, the Coyotes are coming off a 1-0 shootout win over San Jose, one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

What to watch — Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is turning heads as he continues turning away pucks. He is 3-1 with a 0.98 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage. Monday's 1-0 win over San Jose was Bryzgalov's second shutout of the season.

The Blues have changed their forward combinations. Whether or not this is what they’ll look like against Phoenix Thursday, I don’t know . . . but here’s what they’ve been showing in practice the last two days:

By my count, it’s the fifth different variation of lines since opening night. I didn’t have a chance to talk with Blues coach Andy Murray about the line changes, but when I do, I’ll post his comments in a blog.

********

Overlooked in the Blues’ recent losses is the play of Keith Tkachuk, who leads the team with six points (3 goals, 3 assists).

“If you look at Keith’s history here the last few years, each year he’s gotten off to a good start and been very strong,” Murray told the media today. “He’s around the front of the net, he’s screening goaltenders, getting in the way and using that big body. He’s been a good example in terms of work for the rest of our players as well. The key thing, from Walt’s perspective, is we have an 82-game schedule in which we expect him to give us that.“I think what we have to manage with Keith is make sure he gets rest days, and so on. He’s very demanding of himself and pushes himself real hard. We need to make sure that when there is an opportunity to do it we conserve energy so he’s got that the second half of the season.”

********Murray may be looking for chemistry between Tkachuk and Paul Kariya. After scoring two goals on opening night, Kariya has two assists in the last three games.

“We’ve seen some real positive signs from Paul, where he’s been dominant on the ice and other times where we’ve seen a little bit of rust,” Murray said. “So we expect him to get better game by game.”

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Defenseman Barret Jackman may try and skate for the first time Wednesday since spraining his ankle in last Thursday’s loss to Atlanta. Jackman won’t begin the road trip with the Blues, but depending on his progress, he could join the team in Anaheim or Pittsburgh.

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A financial dispute between Fox Sports Midwest and Dish Network has led the satellite provider to discontinue showing up to 35 of the Blues' remaining 71 telecasts scheduled for FSM, beginning with tonight's game in Phoenix, until a settlement is reached.

The Blues dropped KPLR (Channel 11) from their local TV package this year and moved all their telecasts this season to FSM, increasing that outlet's schedule from 51 to 74 games. In turn, it has insisted on a rate increase for the cable/satellite systems that carry it's signal.

Deals have been reached with Charter cable, AT&T U-Verse and DirecTV. But an impasse remains with Dish Network and MediaCom, which has many customers in central and southwest Missouri, as well as parts of Iowa and central Illinois.

A source said the sides are far apart.

"Fox Sports Midwest is the home of St. Louis Blues hockey, but we need our local cable and satellite providers to offer all the games to their customers,'' FSM said in a statement. "We’re working hard to get this resolved as soon as possible.’’

One source said the sides are far apart.

For more on this story, read Friday's Post-Dispatch and visit STLtoday.com on Friday.

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I'm getting 4 months free of DISH's regional sports package which includes all the other FSN networks. Hopefully I'll be able to catch the games on the other networks. This was after being on hold with DISH for 52 minutes.

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